


Happy Birthday From Luna Park

by vassalady



Category: Captain America (2011)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-11
Updated: 2012-02-11
Packaged: 2017-10-30 23:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vassalady/pseuds/vassalady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Bucky celebrate Steve's birthday by going to one of Luna Park's most unique attractions: the baby incubators.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Birthday From Luna Park

**Author's Note:**

> When I found out about baby incubators in pre-1950s New York from QI, this story immediately came to mind. One thing to note is I put Steve's D.O.B. as July 4th, 1917, not 1920 as all sources I've seen list it, because movieverse Steve's dad died of mustard gas, so WWI... It makes 1920 a little late for Steve's father to actually be his father.

It was almost Steve’s birthday, and Bucky came by to talk about the festivities.  
  
“I was thinking,” Bucky said, “you, me, a couple of gorgeous dames I met last weekend, dancing, fireworks, and, who knows?” He drummed his fingers on the table.  
  
Steve laughed. “I think it’ll be a no, Buck.”  
  
“Come on, it’ll be fun.” Bucky rocked back in the chair, keeping his balance by hanging onto the table with one hand. “It’s your night, girls like that.”  
  
Steve shook his head. “Remember how last year turned out?”  
  
His 18th birthday wasn't one of Steve's best memories. His mother had passed away that spring, so it was the first without her homemade pie. He and Bucky got drunk, watched the fireworks, and then when Bucky tried to pick up some girls, their boyfriends beat them up. Well, they beat Steve up, Bucky didn’t get more than a split lip and a bruise or two.  
  
Bucky snorted. “Come on, Steve, it’s your birthday. You think I’m going to let my best friend sulk at home on his birthday?”  
  
Steve sighed. “Fine,” he said. “I have work in the morning, but I’ve got the afternoon off. But I say we’re going to Coney Island.”  
  
“Coney Island? Really?”  
  
“You said it’s my birthday, we’re doing what I want to do.”  
  
Bucky shrugged. “Whatever makes you happy.”

  
  
  
Two days later, he met up with Bucky, who pretended he hadn’t bought Steve yet another new sketchbook (Steve liked it, he was easy), and they made their way to the Fun and Amazement that awaited them on Coney Island.  
  
The crowds were worse than usual, and Bucky complained about it. Steve said, “It’s a holiday, what do you expect?”  
  
“You better feel special, then, since all these people turned out just for you.”  
  
It was an old joke, but Steve chuckled anyway.  
  
They headed toward the amusement parks. Steve turned to Luna Park, and Bucky followed, pushing through the crowds.  
  
“So where do you want to start?” he asked. “Side shows? Animals? Rides? Or do you want me to win you a toy from a vendor?” He winked. “I think I can win you something at the shooting range, little guy.”  
  
“Ha, ha,” Steve said. He pointed to the sideshows. “There’s something I want to show you.”  
  
They reached the sideshows and stood at the entrance to one building.  
  
“Baby incubators?” Bucky said. He looked around at the people waiting outside. “Well, pretty good looking crowd.”  
  
Steve saw Bucky leering at the young women, and he gave him a good shove. “Come on, Bucky, I’m serious here.”  
  
“So am I.”  
  
They each paid their dime, and after a short wait, they were allowed in. They walked down the row of incubators, each of which held a tiny baby.  
  
Bucky leaned over the rail for a better look at one that a nurse was tending to. “They’re so little,” he said. “I don’t remember my sister ever being that small.”  
  
“That’s because she wasn’t premature,” Steve said. He rested his forearms on the rail and looked at the little babies. Some of them wouldn’t survive, but none of them would have without the incubators.  
  
“This one is barely a pound!”  
  
“Bucky, I want to tell you something.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
Steve continued to look at the babies as he spoke. “It’s my 19th birthday today, but I shouldn’t have been born until the fall. I spent my first few months right here in Luna Park.”  
  
He felt Bucky settle next to him. “You never told me that before.”  
  
“I’m telling you now.” He waved his fingers at the baby, a little girl, even though she was fast asleep. “My mom visited me every day, and for a while, they weren’t sure I was going to make it.”  
  
"A fighter even then, huh?"  
  
"I suppose I must have been."  
  
They looked at that little girl for a few more minutes. Steve wished her the best and told her to hang on. _It gets easier._  
  
He glanced to the side, and he saw a young couple whispering over one of the incubators. He imagined his mother in their place, a woman who lost her husband to war and risked losing her son, too. But he couldn’t imagine how his mother or the young couple felt.  
  
“Is this where you tell me you want a houseful of brats?” Bucky said.  
  
Steve turned back to him. “I don’t know. What makes you say that?”  
   
Bucky nodded to the couple. “You look jealous.”  
  
“Jealous? Of what they’re going through?”  
  
“They’re starting up a family, all the same.”  
  
Steve snorted, but he couldn‘t stop the small smile on his face. "We should probably get going, huh?"  
  
"Whoa, not so fast," Bucky said, catching his shoulder. "Just follow my lead." He flagged down a passing nurse, a very cute nurse, red headed, bob cut, nice, umm... And only a few inches taller than Steve.  
  
He glanced down. Damn, she wasn't wearing heels, either.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked. Her accent was almost comical, and Bucky picked up on it right away.  
  
"You from Boston?" he said.  
  
"Born and bred," the nurse replied. "Now is there something I can help you gentlemen with?"  
  
Bucky gave Steve a nudge. "Me and my friend here just think it's great what you're doing for these kids. My name's Bucky, and this here's Steve."  
  
The nurse looked them up and down a second, sizing them up, and for whatever reason, she smiled and said, "Sarah."  
  
"Oh, really." Bucky nudged Steve and winked. "Well, did you know that Steve's mom was a nurse named Sarah? Plus she came from Boston, too."  
  
"Bucky, I don't think-" Steve said, but Bucky clapped him on the shoulder and kept talking.  
  
"Not to mention he was in the exact same place as this little girl right here." He grinned, charmingly, as Bucky always did. "Now wouldn't you call that fate?"  
  
"Really, that's amazing," Sarah the nurse said, looking very cheerily at Steve. "My husband was an incubator baby, too. Oh, look, there he is." She waved to someone over their shoulders, and when they turned, they saw a tall, beefy man wave back over the crowd.  
  
Steve chuckled and elbowed Bucky in the ribs as discreetly as he could. "Looks like a nice guy," he said.  
  
"He certainly is. He's why I decided to come work here." Sarah looked between the two of them. "Now I know it's a holiday, but if you would like to join us for a drink, I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't mind. My shift's almost over."  
  
Bucky said, "That sounds real-"  
  
"Sorry, we've got other plans," Steve cut in. He grabbed Bucky by the arm and started walking towards the exit. They both wished her a Happy Fourth of July and made their escape.  
  


  
  
They found themselves on the roof, once again watching the fireworks and once again drinking.  
  
"I can't believe you," Steve said. He downed the last of his beer before continuing. "Did you see her husband? He could have crushed my head in one hand."  
  
"She said he was a swell guy." Bucky cracked open another bottle. "And hey, Sarah, nurse, incubators, quite a coincidence."  
  
"My mother wasn't from Boston."  
  
"Three out four is still three out of four."  
  
Steve gave up. He started in on his third beer. The fireworks were almost over, and he was feeling strangely tired from the day.  
  
"Hey, Bucky?"  
  
Bucky laughed. "What, you want the whiskey already? The night's still young."  
  
Steve shook his head. "No, just... thanks for today. Failed pick-up and all."  
  
Bucky held out his beer. "What are friends for?"  
  
They clinked bottles.


End file.
